Seaside
by VioletFlame44
Summary: After a breakup Lucy takes a trip to the seaside and meets a very kind stranger. Nalu One-shot!


The cold salty breeze stung her still red eyes. It dragged her long blonde hair off her shoulders, sending golden locks curling through the air. Lucy shivered, wrapping bare thin arms around her body in a futile attempt to conserve heat. She should have known better than to wear a dress. Then again, she hadn't been thinking particularly clearly when she drove here.

The ends of her simple white dress fluttered softly like a butterfly's wings against her bare legs. Her bare feet were buried in the soft gold sand, her white pumps lying in a heap a couple of metres again. The sharp, tough grass that blanketed the sand dunes swayed from side to side, reminding her of a couple locked in an intimate dance. That thought made her eyes sting with fresh tears.

The hours she'd spent sitting there had brought little hills to cover her arms and legs. The sky was starting to lighten; the sun just peeking over the horizon as it cast a warm orange glow across the azure sky. Cerulean waves crashed and leapt at the sand, casting out fingers of white foam that tried to drag the golden powder toward it. Two eternal lovers. Locked in an eternal dance.

The salty ocean matched the salty water that had left dried up trails along Lucy's cheeks. Lucy sniffed, unsure if her nose was stinging from the cold or her tears. She swiped her hand across her cheeks swiftly. She was being pathetic. She'd never even really liked the guy. She'd only really started dating Dan Straight to get her to stop bugging her. And it had taken all her willpower to put up with him for a whole 4 months. But still.

 _Flashback_

 _Lucy was tired. She'd just finished an extremely long, arduous day of work at the Magnolia Times headquarters, the newspaper for which she worked. And she'd got away early. She had planned on staying for another few hours to finish up, but her brain was bleary and tired, so she'd decided to call it quits and head home. She'd never make some actual progress in this state anyways. Better to start fresh tomorrow morning. Good thing she had the day off to catch up on work. Lucy pushed her key into the lock, her eyes dropping at the thought of her snug comfortable bed, and swung the door open. Her keys clattered to the floor._

 _Her boyfriend jumped out of the bed like he'd been stung by a large wasp. His eyes went wide and his mouth flapped soundlessly. He grabbed a pillow, seeming to remember his state of nudity. The woman with short white hair in his bed had the dependency to look guilty as she pulled the covers over her chest. Lucy's covers, might I add. Lucy's mouth dropped open and a strangled noise came out._

" _Lucy" Dan said, running a hand through his messy brown hair. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "This is Angel". Angel shot him a glare, as Lucy shot him an incredulous look. "I-" Dan started but Lucy had already slammed the door shut._

 _End Flashback._

So yeah. She was pretty peeved. She drove around for a while, and when she spotted this beach, she stopped and came and sat. So here she was. As before mentioned, she hadn't really liked Dan. She'd honestly been trying to figure out how to break up with him gently for a while now. Guess he beat her to it. The betrayal still hurt of course.

Suddenly, she felt a soft weight on her shoulders. She whipped around, discovering she was no longer alone. A man stood beside her. His onyx eyes were bright, his messy pink hair strangely stylish. He was wearing a white short sleeved shirt that showed off his strong biceps and fit muscular body. Lucy felt heat rise to her cheeks. His long legs sported dark jeans and scruffy trainers. The man sat down beside her, and Lucy thought he must be cold without a coat. Then she realised his warm coat was wrapped around her shoulders.

"Natsu" he said, extending a hand. She stared at him for a long moment. "L-Lucy" she rasped, her voice hoarse from her tears as she placed her hand in his. Her heart pulsed warmly in her chest as she did. "You're freezing!" he exclaimed, grabbing her other hand and wrapping his warm fingers around her frigid ones. "You're hot". His eyebrow raised, and Lucy's cheeks turned scarlet as she realised what she said. "Uh-I mean-I" she spluttered as he let out a low deep chuckle that warmed her insides. "I've been told I have an unnatural body temperature" he said.

Lucy smiled, ducking her head and burying her face in the warm coat. She inhaled. My God, this man smelled amazing. "So" he asked, still massaging her hands with his own, "what's a beautiful lady doing sitting out here at this ungodly hour?" Lucy's mind vaguely registered that he called her beautiful, but her eyes filled with tears once more. "Hey" he asked softly, placing a finger under her chin and lifting her face to his. "You OK?" Maybe it was because he was so nice and his eyes were full of concern for this random woman, but Lucy found herself wrapping her arms around a total stranger and sobbing into his chest.

To his credit, he didn't pull away or flinch, or even so much as hesitate. His strong arms wrapped around her cold skin and pulled her closer, rubbing warm circles in her back. He pressed his face into her hair as she sobbed and told him everything, through hiccups and ugly sniffing. He didn't pull away for a second, not even when his shirt grew wet and sticky with tears and – unfortunately – snot. When she finished crying and tried pulling away in embarrassment his grip tightened around her. Lucy shifted a little, stretching her legs out over his and tucking her face into his neck. Because honestly, he was insanely warm and she was cold and she really didn't want to leave his arms just yet. In that moment she never wanted to leave his arms again. His touch sent bolts of electricity through her body, making her heart beat harder and her stomach swarm with butterflies. She'd never felt that way about a guy before.

"What a bastard" he muttered into her hair. Lucy laughed lightly. "In your bed". His scowl deepened. "If I ever meet this ass I'll knock his lights out". "Not if I beat you too it" Lucy replied. Natsu smiled. He wrapped one of his arms under his legs and suddenly stood up, startling Lucy so she squealed and grabbed his shoulders. He bent slightly to pick up her shoes and then he carried her the whole way to their parked cars. Natsu gently lowered her to the ground, and gestured at her blue car. "I'll see you home, if you want to lead the way". Lucy nibbled her lip lightly, remembering she had the day off. "I-I don't really want to go back just yet" she said. "You can crash at my place if you like" Natsu offered. "Really?" she asked hopefully. Natsu grinned, opening the door to his blue car. "Just follow me"

Lucy spent the majority of the next day asleep in Natsu's apartment. After they spent some time bonding over coffee – and dinner – Natsu saw her home with her number in his phone, his number in hers and the promise of dinner tomorrow night. Lucy arrived at her apartment and was surprised to see Dan waiting by her doorstep. Lucy sighed, slamming her car door shut and approaching him. He stood up as she did.

"Lucy!" Dan exclaimed. "I wanted to apologize -" "I don't want you to apologize Dan" Lucy said dryly. "I want you to go. We're through" Dan opened his mouth to answer, but Natsu appeared at her side and locked her fingers in his warm ones. "Is this Dan?" he asked. Lucy nodded. True to his word, Natsu's fisted hand met Dan's face with a sharp crack. Lucy kissed Natsu's cheek softly in thanks and opened her door, Natsu following with a faint blush on his cheeks, and they left Dan clutching his nose in the street.

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and tell me what you thought!**


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